Another two-week hiatus?!?

Oh boy.  Yes, I know that it's been another two weeks since I have posted here, but this time I really have NO excuse. :)  I had company two weekends ago (the weekend after valentine's day) and for all of last week, I was busy every night of the week!  On Monday night, I cleaned my apartment after my company left.  On Tuesday, I went to the last girl's college basketball game, Wednesday night was bible study, and then Thursday and Friday night, I was on the phone ALL evening, each evening!  No joke!  Good thing I have a good phone plan. haha! :)  Saturday, I went downtown to pick up some enchiladas that I purchased from a school for their fundraiser (yum!) and then went to the college guy's basketball game and then on Sunday, I went to my Sunday morning church meeting and then we had a potluck for some dear friends who are moving away to another state.  Sunday day was a good day (meeting) but a sad day (saying goodbye).  So, I've just been busy, busy, busy again! :)

Work is going well, too.  There's a lot going on and it's keeping me quite busy, so I'm usually pretty exhausted by the time I get home each night.  Obviously that doesn't stop me from making plans for the evening, but on the nights that I don't have anything going on, it's GREAT to just chill out and RELAX. :)  Tonight has been one of those nights and I've been very glad for that.  I came home with a headache today so I was glad to just relax.

Well, I've been shopping for a new wallet for awhile now and boy, oh, boy...is it HARD to find something a gal can like!  Well, it is for me, anyway. :)  I've had my current wallet for about 10 years now and it's starting to look a little worn out, so I thought it was time to upgrade.  I've been looking and looking and I think I finally found one today!  Here's a picture, but sorry about the picture quality.  I took it from my cell phone.

Cute, no?  Well, I like it!  The main wallet is a dark brown leather and the swirly dods are a lighter brown.  It's VERY cute!  It's an Ariat wallet (a big name in western wear) and my friend said, "Well, we're going to turn you into a cowgirl yet!" haha! :)  Anyway, I'm just happy that I finally found a wallet!  Yay! :)

I hope that you're doing well and having good days!  We've had some icky winter weather here lately with some SERIOUS wind (aka, gusts of 60 mph).  It's been atrocious, really. I've said it before and I'll say it again...I completely understand why men and women went crazy because of the wind in the old wild west.  It's the new west out here and the wind drives ME crazy some days!!  Ugh.  Anyway, hopefully it will pass soon and we'll be well on our way to spring! :)  Take care until next time!

Valentine's Day Flowers

Look at the beautiful flowers my dad sent me for valentine's day!  Isn't he just so sweet?!

Love you, Dad!  Thank you!!! : )

Please forgive me...

Please forgive my delay in posting, but I had the flu last week!  booooo!!! :(  Luckily, it was only a 24-hour bug (Tuesday to Wednesday), but it's been a few residual days of tiredness since then, so not much productivity on my part.  Oops!  But I'm feeling "normal" again today and thought I'd put up a little post of what's been going on with me.  :)

Work has been good, so I can't complain there.  It keeps me busy, so that's nice.  We're being held to our working hours a lot more now, though, so that's been quite a change for me.  It's been mandated that departments be more strict with their staff to ensure that they are NOT working more than 40 hours a week.  I'd often work until 6 PM just to "finish up" the day and get things organized for the next day, all without claiming it on my payroll.  But I was okay with that!  However, the University is NOT okay with that, so they're being more strict about things.  Disobedience to this change could result in a reprimand that goes into my employee file, so I will obey the rules because I don't want that to happen!! :)  We'll see how things go once work drastically increases during advising time.  I try not to worry about it.  What will be, will be!!

This past Saturday I was a guest coach for the women's college basketball team, so that was a fun experience! :)  I got to watch the team warm up a bit ("shoot around") in the morning (around 9 AM), go out for breakfast with them (10 AM), join them in the locker room before the game and during half time and then sit just behind them on the bench (in "press row"). Oh, and how could I forget?! They announced it on the loud speaker AND posted it on the jumbo tron that I was one of the honorary coaches! Woo-hoo! :)  It was LOTS of fun!! Too bad we lost by three points, though. Oh, well...I'm still a fan! GO COWGIRLS!!!  :)

Here's a picture they took of me and the other honorary coach (on my right).  The woman on the left is an academic advisor for the athletes and I work with her quite a bit, so that's why I think I was chosen for this fun experience. :)

Try not to laugh at me in the picture...it wasn't the best picture I've had taken of me. :)  The crazy part about the experience, though, is that I wasn't allowed to cheer!!  I had to be a "neutral" fan because we were sitting among the press.  Seriously.  I was told that if I even wanted to clap that I had to clap under the table.  It was weird!! And let me tell you, it was HARD to be quiet! haha! :)  But it was still fun to be close enough to hear the Coach talk to the girls during time outs. Very interesting!! :)
 
So that's what I've been up to over the last couple of weeks.  I meant to post something last week, but got sick, so hopefully this post can make up for it. :)  Take care!  Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day tomorrow!!! :)

A simple Saturday

I have had a nice relaxing day today.  I slept in, took a nap and then went to the women's college basketball game (they won!).  After getting home from the game, I finalized my taxes and submitted them.  Yahoo!  I think that I've already got my refund spent, though. :)  Now tomorrow will be more of the same.  I'll have my Sunday church meeting in the morning and then I'm planning to go to the college wrestling match in the afternoon (our team is 7th in the nation and we have a guy who's no. 1 in the nation for his weight...very exciting!) and then I'll come home after that for a late afternoon nap.  I'm looking forward to it.  It should be a good day! :)

Things at work have really settled down, thank goodness, so I'm finally catching up on a few things.  Before leaving work on Friday, one of my professor's said, "Wow, Jennifer!  That pile of papers on your desk has significantly decreased this week!"  I gave him a big smile and said, "It sure has!!"  :)  It's always nice to feel like you're back in order again after some crazy-busy days and I've been feeling GLAD for quiet days at work this week.  It should stay like that for a few more weeks, so I'll just keep plugging along with everything and I'll just continue to enjoy the quiet days. :)

I managed to get past the "class enrollment" deadlines, too, and I did not register for a class! ; )  Whew...another semester of life with no homework to worry about. :)  Already this week, I've gone back to thinking, "Why on EARTH would I want to consider getting a Master's degree and go through all that again!?!"  Oh, the yo-yo-ing of decisions that I put myself through is just too much sometimes.  haha!  Time will tell what I really decide about it all.  It's likely that nothing will be resolved for another year yet, if that's even something I decide to do.  So, we'll see! :)

I got a new cell phone this week.  I debated about going with a smartphone or staying with a basic phone and I ended up staying with a basic phone, mainly because of cost.  I'm just not ready (or willing!) to spend the extra money required for a smartphone yet, especially when I have some debt that I'm really working hard to pay off.  So, I gave myself another two years with a basic phone and then we'll see if maybe I'm ready for a fancy smartphone after that. :)

Well, I should get going and make myself some supper for the evening.  I didn't mean to let so much time pass since my last update, but I had four nights of things going on this past week and I was just too busy to blog! :)  I had fun, though, and it just makes me glad for the friends I have. :)  Enjoy the rest of your weekend!!

Windy!

It has been WINDY here the last few days. Wowsa!  My apartment is pretty sound proof to the outside world, so I know that it's super windy out when I can hear it while I'm inside!!  I'm glad that I'm "in" for the evening! :)

Speaking of being in, yesterday I had the day off of work for the MLK holiday, but a committee at work accidentally forgot that the day was a holiday (and that the University was closed) and so they scheduled a candidate (for a professor position) to fly in on Sunday and interview yesterday and today!  Today wasn't a problem, of course, but yesterday was definitely "pick and choose" as far as meetings on campus.  haha!  Well, I took pity on them yesterday and went in for a Noon presentation by the candidate (just an hour presentation) because I wanted to help add to the crowd size.  Well, when I went in, it was cloudy skies, but still kind of sunny and a rather beautiful day.  When I came out?  Raging blizzard.  No joke.  You could barely see two blocks away.  Well, silly me had already decided that I was really in the mood for a pizza from a place that doesn't deliver.  I said, "Go home, Jen.  It's a raging blizzard, for pete's sake."  But, no...I drove downtown to order said pizza.  I parked in the parking lot (that was half a block away from the door, mind you...all the close spots were taken) and I braved the wind and snow to go to the pizza place.  I get two feet from the door only to find a sign that said, "Closed for renovation."  Blargh.  So, I trudged home and made a quesadilla and said to myself, "Told you so.  Next time listen to yourself."  haha!  :)

Monday is the last day to add classes for the spring semester.  I checked again today on a class that I want to take and sighed a sigh of relief to find that it was FULL and CLOSED.  That should get me through these last few days!!  (Remember...I said that I'd take a full year OFF before taking another class!! :)  haha!)

Speaking of other classes, I'm thinking of going on for a Master's degree!!!  I told one of my graduate students that today and she said, "Why on earth would you want to do that!?!"  I laughed.  Very hard.  :)  But I looked up all the details on the degree program I'm interested in on our campus (Adult Education) and I've already stumbled a bit over the application process.  Two papers and the GRE (the GRE is like the college version of the ACT or SAT).  I thought, "Do I really want to do this?!?!"  I found out, though, that they accept applications to the program for every semester of the year, so that helps me to feel like I can make this decision whenever I want to (versus being pinned to ONE application deadline in a year).  Why am I thinking of doing this, though?  Because my job will pay for one class a semester!  If I took one class a semester, I could finish in three and a half years, debt free.  So...why not? :)  After that, it would be, what...five years for a Ph.D. with one class at a time?!  hahaha!  Just kidding on that.  NO Ph.D. for me, thank you!!! :)  So, we'll see what I decide.  It's just been rolling around in my brain for a while, but I'm not sure that I really have the motivation for that kind of work. :)

Well, all for now!  I need to head back to my cell phone's host website to determine if I want to upgrade to a smartphone right now or stick with a basic phone and then upgrade in a couple more years.  *sigh*  Decisions, decisions! :)  (I'm leaning toward a basic phone and then buying the new Kindle that allows you to also access the web!  yahoo! :)  Take care!!

Happy New Year!!!

Well, Happy New Year!!  We are 10 days into the new year and I do hope it's started off well for all of you!!

I returned to Wyoming on Jan. 3 and have been going-going-going ever since!  Work is crazy-busy right now and the students started classes again today so it's just been hectic.  So, I've been working lots of overtime and just trying to at least keep up with things.  It's not working so well, but I'll keep trying! :)

I was sad to leave my family again this year.  It just gets harder and harder to leave.  I'd love to be living up there again, but I'm afraid that the economy really isn't allowing for that right now.  I'm just thankful that I enjoy Wyoming and my job out here as much as I do because I think if I didn't, it would just make things that much harder.  Anyway, mom & dad are already talking about coming out to visit me in April, May or June, so we'll see what happens.  And guess what?  Buddy (the dog!) might come along with them this time!!  Yahoo!!  Man, I love that dog... :)

And that's about all that's new with me!  I've been feeling an "itch" to take some classes again at the University, but I told myself to take one FULL year off, so I'm just biding my time until the date passes to add classes for this semester and then I'll be in the clear.  Until then, who knows... I've already added and dropped two different classes two different times!  haha!

Oh, and I did decide on a new year's resolution this year, too...I decided that I wasn't going to work so much!!  haha!  Maybe I'll start that in a couple of weeks...once things get settled with the semester's start. :) 

Take care and good days to you!

Wisconsin

Well, I've been thoroughly enjoying my time in Wisconsin these last few days!  I flew in on the 16th and have spent a lot of time with family, some time taking naps and also some time playing with Buddy!  All in all, it's been a fantastic visit!  

I'll be flying back to Wyoming on the 3rd so I'm soaking it all up in this last week here!  I was outside playing with Buddy the other day and it started to snow and it was just so pretty.  I tried to capture a picture of her coming back from chasing her ball, but this was the best I could get (I was using my cell phone).  And, unfortunately, it's of her butt toward the camera, not her face.  haha!  She got distracted just as I was taking the picture.  Oh well... :)

All for now but I wanted to let you know that I'm enjoying my vacation!!  It's been GREAT to just relax and spend time with family. :)  Have a very happy New Year's weekend and be safe out there! :)